An American in Pyongyang: A photo essay of a tourist to North Korea

Dr. Cody Morris Paris

Middlesex University Dubai

Abstract

In the summer of 2014, I traveled to Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea during my holiday. I spent a total of six days on tour. In this photo essay, I will provide a glimpse at life in Pyongyang and provide reflections on my experiences. Kim Jong Un and the DPRK have invested heavily to develop its tourism infrastructure with hopes of attracting upwards of 2 million international tourists (mostly from China) by 2020. Currently, there are about 100,000 tourists visiting the DPRK annually of those only about 5-6000 are non-Chinese tourists.

Biography

Dr. Cody Morris Paris is an Associate Professor and Deputy Director of Middlesex University Dubai. He has travelled to more than 115 countries and is a social scientist with varied research and teaching interests within the areas of: Tourism, Experiential Learning, Community Development, Technology, Sustainable Development, Mobilities, International Politics, and Global Security. He has authored/co-authored nearly 100 academic articles, book chapters, and papers in conference proceedings and his research has been recognized with several prestigious awards. He serves on the Editorial Boards of several leading journals, and currently serves as an elected member of the Executive Board of both the Association for Tourism & Leisure Education and Research and the Travel & Tourism Research Association Asia Pacific Chapter.

If you are interested in presenting at one of our future seminars, or would like to recommend someone, please contact: l.hyland@mdx.ac.ae.